A la perchoine for Guernsey French?

Guernsey is facing a language crisis, with fresh fears today that Guernsey French could die out within a generation unless drastic action is taken.

It follows the announcement the States' own language champion has quit his job.

Jan Marquis has been working with the Culture and Leisure Department for three years to develop a language strategy. The Department has today thanked him for his "hard work" and "wishes him well for the future."

The census of 2001 was the last time a formal count of Guernsey French speakers took place. Back then, 1,327 people said they could speak it fluently. Of those, just 31 were under the age of 20. A decade on, latest estimates reckon the numbers are in continual decline.

But there are those doing their bit to keep Guernsey French alive. The Priaulx Library has a whole area devoted to it.

Chief librarian Amanda Bennett said: "It is in crisis in that I think as an oral language, as a spoken language, and certainly as a language that is taught from childhood it's very likely to die out within the next generation.

"I think we should do everything we can to preserve that, but I'm not an educationalist. My role as a librarian is to try and preserve what's already known about the language and keep it for future reference."

Our reporter's sources tell him a special government meeting will take place next Tuesday where the future of Guernsey's endangered language will be high on the agenda. (from CTV)

it should be taught in schools as part of their curriculum.it is an important part of our heritage ,i wish i had learnt it while i was there .

It may be part of Guernseys heritage but I dont want my childrens time at school wasted learning a language that will serve them no use when they leave. By all means let those who wish to learn it do it as a homework project as the schools seem to love heaping piles of homework on the children.

i agree with kat it should be taught in schools..children are taught other languages in school so why not patois...if incomers dont want their children to learn the language that is down to them but local kids should have the choice to if that is their wish..maybe instead of french or german.

I agree ladies

when my father spoke guernsey french to the germans, he almost got caught. He fled to england though my grandmother was trapped in alderney. She nearly died twice in the concerntration camps. she live from 1902-1977.

cockney wrote:It may be part of Guernseys heritage but I dont want my childrens time at school wasted learning a language that will serve them no use when they leave. By all means let those who wish to learn it do it as a homework project as the schools seem to love heaping piles of homework on the children.

That attitude is exactly what is wrong with England today, foreigners what to change everything to suit them!!! If you don't like it leave!
That's like me saying I don't want my kids learning German in school,or that I don't want them to be Catholic!!!

sie (i agree)

me two

French German and Spanish are taught in Gsy schools mainly because they are of use when you go out into the big wide world, you can also do further education in these languages. Gsy French is spoken only in Gsy so it would be very difficult to justify teaching it in schools unless it was an optional program in secondary schools. Latin is probably the only "minority" language that is still taught and I am not too sure about the value of that or how many schools still teach it.



Great shame to see old languages die out but if there is no need for people to learn them, in todays society we are so busy with other things that there is little time to learn something that will not serve you in the future.



As a matter of interest I note that several posters have indicated that the language should be kept alive. How many on this forum

a) speak patois

b) don't speak but have made moves to learn

c) had a parent that spoke it but didn't bother to learn

I dont think the language should be allowed to die but as my children have stuggled a bit at school I would much prefer their time was spent on improving their knowledge of the three r's than on something that will serve them no use when they are adults. Although I am not Guernsey born my grandparents spoke patois fluently along with quite a few of my aunts and uncles.

Cockney, did your parents speak Patois?

No.